Every year since 2010 Rapha has laid down a festive riding challenge: to ride 500km between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The #Festive500 might have started in the South of England but, in the ten years since it has grown to become a global challenge and a cumulative of 130 million kilometres were ridden. The challenge is a rite of passage for every cyclist and in the past decade, participation grew steadily reaching over 500,000 participants and 126,000 completions overall.

Join Rapha ride leader Michael Knudsen as he attempts the Festive 500 in one go. The event is set for 100km, so if you want to start with Michael as he goes the full distance, then you can just continue riding with him.

Michael is no stranger to long hours in the saddle. He has completed the 9100 km Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme and the 5000 km indoor Race Across America... in a shopping mall. Give him some encouragement as he ticks over the kilometres from his personal pain cave in Copenhagen.